Osborne named interim athletic director
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By CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Look out, Bill Straub: Tom Osborne’s watching.
Oops, wrong Bill.
But just in case he was thinking otherwise, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln women’s bowling coach was put on alert that his new boss is coming back to NU to do more than help keep the struggling football program from throwing too many gutter balls.
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“I will certainly serve all sports equally,” Osborne said before a packed crowd in the Van Brunt Visitors Center late Tuesday afternoon after being announced by UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman as Nebraska’s interim athletic director.
And you thought the Huskers’ legendary former coach — who agreed to an open-ended deal that pretty much means he can be in the position for as long as he wants — had gotten out of politics.
Oh, well. At least he didn’t have to think of something nice in case someone asked him about his initial thoughts of Lincoln.
For 31 years before he served as the representative from Nebraska’s 3rd congressional district and had a failed gubernatorial bid, the 70-year-old Osborne was at the center of the Nebraska football program, serving six seasons as a full-time assistant under Bob Devaney before succeeding him in 1973.
Osborne led the Huskers to 12 Big Eight Conference titles, one Big 12 crown and three national championships that continued to unify the state from border to border, an effect brought on by his predecessor, Devaney.
Essentially, that is why Perlman came to him Friday and then again on Sunday, after he had determined Steve Pederson had lost the credibility to move the athletic department and, particularly, the football program forward.
Pederson, who twice had served under Osborne and came to Nebraska as athletic director in January 2003, was fired on Monday, and Perlman moved swiftly to entice Osborne into returning.
For the sake of all 93 of Nebraska’s counties.
“There’s clearly a division in the state,” Perlman said in regard to the current state of the Nebraska football program. “I look at, at least, the titles to my e-mails. You can tell there’s a division in the state.”
Under fourth-year head coach Bill Callahan, the Huskers have struggled to a 4-3 record one season after they played in the Big 12 championship. That mark includes Saturday’s 45-14 loss to Oklahoma State, a result that represented the most lopsided home loss in 58 seasons and came against an opponent that hadn’t won in Lincoln in its previous 20 attempts. It also marked the fourth time this season Nebraska had allowed more than 40 points, an unprecedented lowlight.
No wonder Perlman said he felt very comfortable calling on Osborne, a person he believes “brings some unique qualities to do what needs to be done.”
But with that endorsement, he also offered a stern warning to those who believe Osborne’s presence will bring about an instant return to glory for Big Red.
“I think Tom’s doing this because he cares a lot about the athletic department, about the university,” Perlman said. “I think he does it at great risk to himself, because I don’t think there’s anyone who can come in with a magic wand. And I have an uneasy feeling that some people think that suddenly everything’s going to change.
“He knows better than that, and I know better than that. … This football program, particularly now, is in disarray a little bit, needs the support of Nebraska fans. This athletic program needs the support. Tom will need the support of Husker fans so we can move this forward. It’s not a quick fix. It’s in the long term; that’s what we pride ourselves on being able to do.”
Perlman said Osborne agreed to a deal that will pay him approximately $260,000 annually. In July, Pederson signed a five-year contract extension worth $500,000 annually. To part ways, the university is paying him around $2.2 million.
“Tom is not looking for his next career. He and I will plan as we go forward a strategy of what’s the best way and the best timing to search for and appoint a permanent athletic director,” Perlman said. “There should be no doubt that the fact that he is interim means that he still has full authority and responsibility of the athletic director, and I’m counting on him to do what needs to be done, as he believes it needs to be done.”
Perlman later acknowledged that while the public may have considered Osborne to be the slam-dunk choice for the job, there were some issues the two had to hammer out.
“I had to feel comfortable with him that he understood that I was still the chancellor of the university, and he had to feel comfortable with me that he was going to have the authority and responsibility he needed to do the job that I’m asking him to do,” Perlman said. “So, sure, there was conversation. But those conversations don’t have to go on for weeks.”
One person who is glad they didn’t is Dave Rimington, the Huskers’ two-time Outland Trophy winner.
Now the president of the Boomer Esiason Foundation in New York, the Omaha native sounded tickled for both his former coach and the Huskers.
“I’m so happy to see they made a decision that makes sense,” Rimington said.
Osborne — still an active follower of college football because he casts votes in a poll of former head coaches that is used in the formula for Bowl Championship Series rankings — called on his diplomatic side when asked for his impression of the state of Callahan’s program.
Then again, that was hardly surprising. A compassionate man, Osborne, with eyes glistening, thanked Pederson for his efforts before talking about any of his new duties Tuesday.
But he knows Nebraskans are hanging on his every word about football, and so …
“Bill Callahan’s in charge of the football staff and he will be in charge until the season’s over, and he will be evaluated at that time,” Osborne said. “Now, the one thing I would like to say is I don’t believe in leaving people dangling, and so I will let you know what my assessment is. I’ll talk to the team and football staff sometime soon and just lay out some things, and we’ll go from there.
“But there won’t be any … changes until after the end of the season — and then maybe not at all. We’ll see how it’s going.”
So much for running an end-around.
On Tuesday, the best trick play Osborne pulled off was keeping a straight face about his plans.
After admitting surprise to be standing where he was, he asked his new constituents to be patient.
“I don’t come here with a whole lot of answers,” Osborne said. “Sometimes people remember back where we won a lot of football games the (last) few years. I can remember a few years before that when it wasn’t all that hot, and so all you can do is do the best you can, work hard, bring whatever experience you have to the table. So I don’t want people to think because I can serve in this capacity for a period of time that everything’s fixed, because it really isn’t going to be easy.
“The first thing I’ve got to do is get to know the people in the athletic department. I’ve been gone for so long that there have been so many changes, that most of them I really don’t know.”
He also will finish his fall semester duties as a senior lecturer in the UNL College of Business Administration teaching leadership and business ethics.
Perhaps that part of Osborne’s resume is what sealed Perlman’s belief that he’d be the perfect fit as Nebraska’s AD?
“Tom is a unifying force,” the chancellor said. “I think, in general, he brings diplomatic skills and experience and relationships that are important to the program.”
He also brings the lessons learned from having built a distinguished career coaching record of 255-49-3.
And so one of the final questions asked of Osborne during his introduction Tuesday must have seemed very silly to the new interim AD.
Sorry, but he’s not nervous about making decisions with new responsibilities that could tug at his heart as much as his head.
“I’ve stood there on fourth-and-1 and had everybody screaming at you,” Osborne said.
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
